Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC: Why Michelle Waterson Will Be a Champion in 2017

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 10:59 p.m. ET

Fansided, Harry Davies/FanSided via Cage Pages

When Michelle Waterson made her UFC return last month and impressively submitted Paige VanZant in the first round, a fire was lit in the ‘Karate Hottie’s’ belly.

Breaking UFC on FOX records in the process, Waterson returned after 18 months away from the Octagon to choke VanZant unconsciousness in a matter of minutes. Peaking at 4.8 million viewers during her fight, it’s safe to say a new star was born that night in Waterson.

The Karate Hottie has everything riding her way at the moment. Picking up an extra $50k for a Performance of the Night bonus against in her last outing, her documentary ‘Fight Mom’ showing the balance between being a mom and MMA fighter just being released, and finally the MMA community realizing she is a legitimate threat at 115-pounds. Taking this into consideration, let’s look at why Waterson will be a UFC champion this year.

Now cut the criticism short, I can already hear it. “You have seen the current strawweight champion, right?” “You think Michelle Waterson can beat Joanna Jedrzejczyk?” “Joanna is too big for her, she’s mauled everyone she’s faced.”

It’s important to remember that this is the sport of MMA. Anyone is beatable, and it’s extremely naïve to overlook that, especially when a woman with the experience of Michelle Waterson steps inside the octagon. Let’s not forget that Claudia Gadelha won two solid rounds over Joanna, and Karolina Kowalkiewicz had her on the brink of being finished back at UFC 205.

Before Cody Garbrandt solved the unsolvable puzzle that is Dominick Cruz in an unprecedented fashion, if anyone mentioned that Garbrandt would be a champion in 2017, they’d be mocked and laughed at. Holly Holm had not looked convincing in the UFC with two close decision wins, then went out and dismantled Ronda Rousey in gobsmacking fashion. No one needs reminding that this sport is crazy.

With the sudden introduction of a UFC women’s featherweight division, it would by no means be crazy if we see a UFC atomweight division introduced for women in 2017, the weight class Waterson formerly used to fight at prior to her UFC days.

However, the next logical choice seems to be women’s flyweight, so we’ll stick to the assumption that Waterson will stay at strawweight for the near future.

So, moving away from that tangent and looking at what makes Waterson the next best thing since sliced bread at 115-pounds.

In her last fight vs Paige, Waterson showed constant switching of her stance to mix up her arsenal of kicks, and particularly used frequent front leg side kicks to keep her opponent at bay on the outside. Also, in her UFC debut against Angela Magana, she replicated this dominant performance, tossing Magana around like a rag doll, showing off a plethora of kicks, and eventually sinking in yet another rear-naked choke finish.

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Perhaps the most over-looked aspects of Waterson’s overall game are her throws and ground control. From executing a head and arm throw against VanZant, and a suplex against Magana, which both lead to the finish. Her win over Jessica Penne back at Invicta FC 5 was arguably the biggest and most impressive win of her MMA career so far. Almost being armbarred herself, Waterson toughed it out and managed to armbar Penne in the fourth round in what was an epic Fight of the Night.

Laying out all the cards on the table at strawweight, there’s not a more viable contender to dethrone the current king than the ‘Karate Hottie.’ Physically and mentally, Waterson is as talented and tough as they come.

Frequent nagging injuries over the years have kept her from competing as much as she would like to, so hopefully the year of 2017 can be Waterson’s most active yet, and she can prove to the mass audience that she’s not just a pretty face.

It could be argued that throwing Waterson in against Joanna next is too early, so it would be interesting to see how she fares against the fellow Muay Thai striker Kowalkiewicz. We saw when the two Poles faced one another that Joanna had many similarities with Karolina, but was just a step ahead of her in the speed and technicality of her combinations.

Who knows? If Waterson does eventually get a title shot in 2017, it might not even be Jedrzejczyk holding the strap at that point, but let’s not get too maverick on these unpredictable scenarios!